A PENSIONER missing for two weeks died of pneumonia in his broken
down car two days before his body was found in the driving seat.

Former policeman John William Davies, 78, who suffered dementia,
had been stuck at the bottom of a remote country track in his Rover 45
which had run out of oil.

Police had been searching for Mr Davies for 15 days since he
disappeared from his home in Llancynfelin, mid Wales, on March 12, an
inquest heard.

After hearing the grim evidence, Ceredigion Coroner Peter Brunton
said: "The difficult part is that although he was missing for two
weeks, the pathologist believes death was only one or two days before he
was found."

The grandfather of five's wife Margaret said he had been in
good spirits before he vanished.

But she added: "He was talking to people who were not there. I
asked if I should get the on-call doctor but he declined."

The last time Mrs Davies saw her husband was before she went to
sleep that morning.

She said: "When I woke at 8.30am, John and the car had
gone." The inquest heard that he suffered hallucinations the night
before he disappeared and had probably become disorientated.

He was found on remote farmland in the Nant-y-Moch area by shepherd
Alan Lloyd Williams.The cause of death was bronchopneumonia, chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease, dementia and heart disease. Recording a
verdict of death by natural causes, Mr Brunton said: "It is
incredible he managed to drive a normal family car down there.

"When police tried to remove the car, the battery was flat and
there was insufficient oil, suggesting the engine had seized.

"In my view, he would never have been able to drive back up
the track, which begs the question, why didn't he walk? "The
only clue, perhaps, is that he was suffering from dementia."

th"It is incredible he managed to drive a family car down
there CORONER

CAPTION(S):

MYSTERY John didn't try to walk

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